I'll Reach You
by justjay88
Summary: Lisa survived her experience on the Redeye, and has moved on. Though her days run as smoothly as possible, her nights are invaded by an unwanted visitor. Is she being contacted in her dreams, or is someone just trying to warn her of what is to come?
1. Chapter 1

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Redeye_

Chapter One: In the Shadow of a Bitter Slumber

She ran, almost jumping in stride as if the ground was crumbling beneath her. The only sound that echoed in the narrow street was the sound of her feet hitting the pavement. Though this was the only noise to be heard, she knew she wasn't the only one running, for the reason that Lisa Reisert was always in a constant chase, a chase that haunted her dreams. The dreams always replayed the same scenario, she would be running down a darkened street, not really sure of what she was running from, but then a shadow would loom over her, consuming what little light was left in the street. The shadow would grab her, and as the street grew bitter cold, would shake her into reality… this is normally where she would wake up shivering.

Lisa was a strong woman, both emotionally and physically, but she had been through a lot in her life, and the past year had weighed heavily on her mind. Jackson Rippner was in a hospital somewhere, a massive amount of blood loss had sent him into a prolonged coma, and the authorities thought it would be best if Lisa did not know of which hospital he was located at. She knew that she didn't have anything to worry about, and she knew that a life centered around fear was not a healthy way to live. What happened to her could have ended a lot worse, and she reminded herself of this daily. She was a survivor, and she was not the one in a coma.

She took a short leave from work after the fiasco, but found some sort of comfort in the work that she did, and went back after two weeks. She felt secure at work, as if she was fighting a new battle each day. As a manager, she was always settling complaints from guests, seeing to random problems, and making sure the overall day just went smoothly. She felt on top of her game at the Lux Atlantic, as if she had to be ready for an unwanted shadow to plague her existence.

That's what Jackson was to her, a shadow that always seemed to be watching her, reading her mind, and entering her dreams. She did not consider herself to be paranoid, but if she was, who could blame her? Jackson had kept a close eye on her for who knows how long before her experience on the red eye, and had figured out Lisa Reisert right down to the Sea Breeze she was reluctant to order. The only thing Jackson had not picked up on, was Lisa's courage and resourcefulness, which he would come to regret after pulling the pen out of his neck.

She was moving on, and it seemed as if with each passing night, her dreams became less and less dark. Finally after three months, she at last slept peacefully. What Lisa was unaware of though, was that this would be the same night that Jackson Rippner would regain consciousness and awaken from his coma. Would Lisa's dreams become reality? The only thing that could be sure, was that Lisa had not seen the last of Jackson Rippner.


	2. Chapter 2

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Redeye_

So it has been a year since I have written… but I am going to add a chapter now (8-1-07) and hopefully I will start to write more steadily.

Chapter Two: Cutting the Strings

His cold blue eyes opened to a soundless room. He blinked profusely, as he tired to put a finger on his surroundings. Where he was did not seem to be a hospital, or at least not a legitimate one. His mouth was dry, and his mind was empty. He stared blankly at the tiled ceiling, and out of nowhere, a rush of pain surged into his brain. Accompanied by this, images flashed almost like a jammed view finder: choppy only hitting him for staggering seconds. A familiar woman screamed in his mind, but her name escaped him. He then heard his own words lingering, "It isn't usually like this." It all came back to him like it always did…

--_Who_ was Jackson Rippner?

--a lab rat and nothing more.

When he was eighteen, Jackson fell in with the wrong crowd; kids who would turn any tricks to make a buck. He had more than enough fall outs with his parents growing up to send him to the streets. Because of that, these kids were his family, and though he probably wouldn't wish them on his worst enemy, they were all he had. They stole, committed petty crime, but nothing major… well that was until they decided to sign the wrong deal. Kellen Bagwell welcomed these kids off of the street into his home, but it was not out of the kindness of his heart. He was one of the big shots in what Jackson and his friends believed to be the local drug ring, but what he was in charge off, was much bigger. He was the head of an organization that specialized in espionage work with government overthrows and high-profile assassinations.

For Jackson, things started off easy: small crimes, impersonation, fraud; but things started to blur for Jackson. He was forgetting things like where he had been and what he had done, and soon time seemed to escape him in general. He couldn't ignore this, so he started asking questions. But, the organization was not in the business of giving answers. When Bagwell had begun to think that Jackson had become to nosey, it sent him over the edge and his manipulation over Jackson intensified, and his strings on the boy tightened. Time became more staggering for Jackson and his awakening in this room became a reoccurring experience.

Jackson's life was reduced to nothing more than that of a puppet: he acted only after the right strings were pulled. Usually after he was used by the organization, he did not remember much, he was just a shell now with only death to look forward to. Perhaps that is what made this time around different. Why didn't the organization let him die? He had failed them, and that much to him was crystal clear due to the flash in his mind of a woman staring him down as he was shot by her father. This woman was the key, Jackson thought to himself. He needed to "finish the job", and for that reason alone, Bagwell had kept him alive. This idea quickly became blurred as Jackson's ideas usually became. He was beginning to forget everything…

"It would never happen again…" he heard her voice say to him as he sat in a daze. Her voice became louder almost in order to call out to him, to beg him to remember. He spoke her name and it all came back to him: the endless hours that he had stalked her, the intimate details that he had learned about her, and the simple time that they had shared before things had gotten ugly. Things would be different this time for Jackson Rippner, he was done being a lab rat.

Jackson stood up. Coherent and aware; he was now determined to escape this hell, find Lisa, and protect her at all costs. Jackson knew that if he was not sent to kill Lisa, someone else would be sent to finish her off, because she was a threat to Kellen Bagwell. Jackson would not let anything happen to her. He would cut the strings that the organization had controlled him with once and for all.

In all honesty, it would be a breeze for him to escape. He was a trained killer, he knew how to get out of sticky situations, and besides, the organization believed that they had complete control over him, so they did not view him as a threat. From what he did remember of his time spent in this room, no one normally paid much attention to him, at least not until he was needed. He would plan to escape that night, and then he would make his way to Miami. Jackson was not afraid of escaping; he was, on the other hand, worried how he would get a woman in which he attempted to kill, a woman in which he threatened the life of her father, and a woman in which despised him, to trust him. Surprisingly, Jackson thought it would take a great deal more then just saying, "they made me do it".


End file.
